T 

876 

B. 
Sv 


THAT  WAS 


A  DREAM  WORTH 
BUILDING 


'  TRIBUTE  AND  RETRQSPEC 
LOUISA  T  ' 


GIFT  OF 


Night 

Study  of 

Fine  Arts 

Dome 

Showing 

Figure  by 

Ralph 

Stackpole 


THAT  WAS  A 
DREAM  WORTH  BUILDING 

THE  SPIRIT  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO'S 

GREAT  FAIR  PORTRAYED  IN  PICTURE 

AND  WORDS  BY 

LOUIS  J 


REPRODUCTIONS  FROM  THE  AUTHOR'S 
EXCLUSIVE  CAMERA  STUDIES  AS 

COLORED  BY 
EDITH  KINNEY  STELLMANN 


H '  S '  CROCKER  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1916 

Louis  J.  Stellmann 

San  Francisco 


Farewell,  O  £My  City  of  Wonder! 
Farewell,  O  £My  City  of  Breams! 
Thy  triumph  of  ^Beauty  and  Color, 
Thy  magic  of  scintillant  gleams 
oAre  ended  for  ever  and  ever. 
So  short  was  thy  glory,  so  keen,— 
It  seems  like  a  marvelous  fancy, 
oA  vision  that  never  has  been. 


more,  like  a  "Valley  of  Jewels, 
oAt  night  will  thy  radiance  glow; 
(5\[p  more  will  thy  mystic  aurora 
Of  light-beacons  flash  to  and  fro 
oAcross  the  horizon  and  onward 
oAfar  into  unfathomed  space 
To  kindle  our  souls  with  a  fervor 
Of  passionate  beauty  and  grace. 


VII 


(Continued) 

more  mil  thy  courts  and  pavilions 
'Resound  with  the  festival  tread 
Of  crowds  nor  the  glad  hum  of  voices. 
oAll  silent  and  empty  and  dead 
Thy  once-merry  parks.  Bleak  and  withered 
The  riot  of  color  and  bloom;— 
oAn  £den  unpeopled  and  blighted! 
cA  Fairyland  gone  to  its  doom! 

cAnd  yet—  in  our  hearts  is  a  memory 
Of  rapture  that  never  can  fade. 
Forever  the  spirit  revisits 
Bright  garden  and  dim  colonnade 
To  drink,  like  a  fresh  inspiration, 
The  wine  of  a  vanished  repast; 
To  feast  on  the  sweet  recollection 
Of  splendors  too  vivid  to  last. 


VIII 


THAT  WAS  A 
DREAM  WORTH  BUILDING 


THAT  WAS  A 

DREAM  WORTH  BUILDING 

%  LOUIS  T'  STELLMANN 

A  I  remember  it  first— this  won- 
drous Dream  City  of  ours— it 
was  a  sort  of  celebrant  hope,  a  pro- 
spective, half-nebulous  crownfor  aking 
not  yet  arisen:  the  contemplated  cli- 
max  of  the  uncompleted  Panama  Canal. 
Many,  many  years  it  seems  to  me 
now,  since  this  first  whispering  of  a 
great  World  Holiday  in  a  city  of 
achievement,  especially  in  merrymak- 
ing. But  it  was  no  new  idea,  the  crea- 
tion of  an  international  playground 


THAT  "WAS  A  DREAM 
WORTH  BUILDING 


for  a  season  and  it  caused  no  furore 
nor  remarkable  enthusiasm. 

We  of  San  Francisco  live  very 
much  in  the  Present.  We  cross  bridges 
when  we  come  to  them,  and  if  there 
are  no  bridges— we  build  them.  That 
is  our  way. 

And  then  came  the  Fire.  I  say  the 
Fire,  for  the  Earthquake  was  a  little 
thing  beside  it.  We  had  had  earth- 
quakes before.  We  will  have  them 
again.  But  the  Fury  of  Flame  that 
came  with  it  was  near  to  our  undoing. 
We  had  to  build  up  a  city  again.  In 
three  years  we  did  it— the  city  that 
the  World  declared  could  not  be  built 
in  ten— and  then  we  came  back  to 
our  Dream. 


".  The  Expo 
'  sitidn  at 
Dusk 


It  seemed  to  me  as  though  we  car- 
ried the  banners  of  that  dream  through 
a  storm  of  obstacles  such  as  no  city 
ever  knew  before,  carried  them,  bat- 
tered and  torn,  but  steadily  and  never 
faltering  to  the  goal— planted  them 
there  proud  and  panting. 

It  seemed  as  though  the  World 
were  massed  against  us;  first  our  own 
state,  then  our  country,  then  the  na- 
tions over-sea.  First  Rivalry,  then 
Enmity,  then  Apathy  and  later  still, 
Turmoil  of  Circumstance  such  as  no 
previous  years  had  known. 

All  of  them  we  conquered  through 
our  Faith,  our  Singleness  of  Purpose, 
our  invincible  desire  to  perpetuate  the 
Dream.  That  was  how  it  began. 


Fountain  of 
Energy 
Reflected  in 
a  Lagoon 
of  the 
South 
Gardens; 
Palace  of 
Horticul' 
ture  and 
Italian 
Towers  in 
Back- 
ground 


PREAM 

WORTH 'BUILDING 


IT  WAS  a  sony  place  enough  that 
was  selecfted  as  a  site — the  garden 
of  our  Wonderland-to-be.  Desolate  it 
was,  forsaken,  littered  o'er  with  huts, 
debris  and  stagnant  pools.  One  would 
have  thought  that  it  would  take  more 
than  a  magic  wand  to  fashion  it  into 
a  beauty  spot  for  all  of  the  World's 
peoples.  And,  for  the  first  year,  it 
became  even  more  repellant.  Where 
there  had  been  rubbish  and  peace  there 
came  a  very  terror  of  confusion— an 
activity  so  vicious  and  chaotic  of 
appearance  that  it  chafed  the  spirit 
past  all  patience. 

Shouting  and  bustle  and  discord 
and  running  about!  Steam  whistles 
and  rumbling  of  trucks,  the  blows  of 


8 


Colonnade 
in  the 
Court  of 
Flowers 


10 


THAIi 

-fitiltDING 


hammers,  the  terrible  staccato  of  drills, 
the  whine  of  revolving  saws,— a  mix' 
ture  of  noise  and  matter,  indescribable. 

We  shunned  the  place  and  won' 
dered— even  though  we  peeped  at  it 
curiously,  now  and  then,  and  went 
quickly  away.  For  a  long  time  it  seemed 
to  go  on  without  change,  save  that 
the  noises  became  more  strident,  the 
piles  of  wood  and  iron  larger,  more 
nondescript. 

And  then,  quite  suddenly  there 
seemed  to  emanate  from  all  this  tur- 
bulence a  hint  of  order,  some  promise 
of  a  plan,  a  great  plan— the  beginning 
of  our  Dream! 

Henceforth  we  came  oftener,  we 
Dreamers  of  the  Dream,  we  San  Fran- 


Tpwers  of 
California 
Building  at 
Night 


II 


12 


T.  \WAJ3  A  PREAM 


ciscans,  and,  little  by  little,  we  became 
Planners  of  the  Plan  instead. 

For,  as  it  grew,  so  did  our  under' 
standing  of  it:  of  its  scope,  its  far" 
reaching  purpose,  its  inevitable  effed: 
upon  the  World. 

Of  our  understanding  came  appre' 
ciation.  Pride  entered  into  us  with 
realization  of  the  magnitude,  the  mar" 
vel  of  our  work,— a  pride  that  bred 
no  haughty  idleness  of  self-esteem,  but 
feverish  desire  for  co-operation. 

Thus  we  became  a  City  of  Workers, 
each  in  his  separate  field;  each  doing 
his  labor,  large  or  small,  important  or 
insignificant,  with  equal  fervor  and 
delight  of  service.  We  thought  of  little 
else.  The  gaze  of  us  all  was  centered 


THAT  WAS-'A  'DREAM 
)WQRTH:BUIJ,DING. 


on  the  building  of  this  wondrous 
spectacle— our  Dream. 

As  it  took  definite  shape,  this  great 
Purpose  Harmony  of  our  Half  Million, 
it  became  a  magnet  that  drew  unto 
itself  the  aid  of  Dream  Builders  every 
where. 

They  came  to  us  from  the  East  and 
the  West,  the  North  and  the  South— 
the  men  who  love  great  undertak- 
ings—and enlisted  under  our  flag. 

Men  of  many  talents  they  were: 
Painters  with  brushes  and  words, 
Chiselers  of  marble  and  landscapes, 
moulders  of  clay  and  of  mansions, 
Chieftains  of  System  and  Color,  Wis" 
ards  of  light,  Generalissimos  of  Amuse' 
ment,  Knights  of  Nonsense,  Captains 


A  Night 
/View  of 
•  tl>e  Fine 

Arts  Dome 

with  its 

Wonderful 

Reflection 


i6 


TH.AT 

. WPRTH  BUILDING- 


of  Display,  Apostles  of  Order,  Agents 
of  Expediency,  Economy,  Service. 

A  mighty  hierarchy  were  they:  all 
Planners  and  Builders  of  Dreams!  And, 
wonder  of  wonders!  all  building  a 
dream  together  in  accord  and  amity, 
in  seal  and  efficiency  incomparable. 

Under  them  an  army  of  trained 
and  united  workers,  back  of  them  a 
city,  a  state,  a  country— nay,  a  world 
of  watchers  and  well-wishers.  For 
now  that  the  Dream  was  building  and 
some  knowledge  of  its  beauty  had  been 
rumored  round  about,  the  peoples  of 
the  Earth  stood  on  tip-toe,  as  chil- 
dren watch  the  trimming  of  a  Christ- 
mas tree,  eager  to  see  it  finished,  im- 
patient to  share  in  its  joys. 


Da  Jr  In  the 
Fine  Arts 
Colonnade, 
and  a 
Glimpse  of 
the  Half 
Dome 
Doorway 
in  Palace  of 
Education 


i8 


THAT  WAS  A  DREAM 
.BUILDING 


And  so  through  the  last  year  of 
its  development,  we  watched  it  rising, 
spire  by  spire,  building  by  building, 
dome  by  dome,  from  the  hilltops  all 
about  this  dream'site,once  so  desolate. 
And  then  we  came  closer,  unsatisfied 
with  distant  glimpses.  In  among  the 
scaffolding,  round  about  the  drays  and 
trucks,  between  the  plaster  giants,  un" 
completed,  through  the  mud  of  embryo 
gardens  and  along  the  banks  of  un- 
finished lagoons,  we  made  our  way. 


A  Foggy 
je4igik  in 
the  Court 
of  Flowers, 
Showing 
Festival 
Hall  and 
Fountain  of 
Beauty  and 
the  Beast 


'  THAT  WAS'  A- DREAM 


WE  SAW  ungainly  skeletons  of 
wood  and  iron  growing  into 
shapes  of  wondrous  grace  and  beauty, 
trees  arise  from  bogs,  French  gardens 
from  wastes  of  mire,  fountains  and 
pools  from  ditches  and  sloughs. 

Flowers  bloomed  as  though  by 
magic,  colonnades  and  arches  shook 
off  their  wooden  shells,  figures  sprang, 
full  armed,  from  roofs  and  columns. 
Litter  and  confusion  vanished  silently. 

Our  eyes  beheld  the  material  form 
of  our  Dream,  a  splendid  substance, 
almost  too  grand  for  our  comprehen- 
sion. And  we  deemed  it  a  miracle 
of  beauty  and  were  glad. 

Yet  this  was  but  the  bare,  crude 
surface.  As  we  watched  it,  day  by 


22 


THAT  >VAS  A  DRJEAM 


day,  with  growing  wonder,  the  mys- 
tery  of  color  transfused  itself  through- 
out it  all,  made  it  glow  with  some 
weird  animation— like  a  statue  that 
has  come  to  life. 

First  the  warm  tints  of  the  gen- 
eral scheme,  then  relief  that  sprang 
out  in  a  multitude  of  shades  and 
blended  with  the  budding  reds  and 
greens  and  yellows  of  a  new-born 
floral  wealth.  Then  the  details  of 
great  murals  and  their  symbolism,  the 
blue  or  green  of  sunlit  waters  a 
grand  ensemble  to  delight  the  heart. 

But,  even  yet  our  dream  was  in- 
complete. With  night  came  flashing 
fires  of  opal,  emerald,  ruby,  turquoise, 
amethyst;  great  beacon  lights  that 


Marina 
-  ^nd  Domes 
'from  the 
Yacht 
Harbor, 
Showing 
Aeroplane 
in  Flight 


THAT  WAS 
WQRTB  BUILDING 


swept  and  searched  the  sky,  a  mar- 
velous chromatic  spread  of  color,  such 
as  Queen  Aurora  might  have  used  to 
fan  the  mystic  fires  of  an  Arctic  day 
to  life. 

At  last  we  were  ready.  Our  ban- 
quet hall  was  spread  and  decorated 
for  the  entertainment  of  the  World. 

It  was  a  great  day  for  San  Fran- 
cisco, that  day  our  dream  came  true 
in  all  its  full  and  rich  fhiition. 


ASedion 
of  the  Fine 
Arts 
Peristyle 


THAT  WAS  A  DREAM 
WORTH  BUILDING 


:QOULD  scarcely  wait  for 
:  dawiti,  so  eager  were  we  and 
glad  and  filled  with  fine  anticipation. 
Like  a  Host  of  Triumph,  two  hun- 
dred thousand  strong,  we  marched, 
through  biting  winds  and  spurts  of 
rain,  singing,  waving  aloft  our  banners, 
crying  aloud  our  delight.  Like  a  throng 
of  children  starving  for  a  holiday,  we 
descended  on  the  Portals  of  our 
Dream,  entered,  played  among  its 
sights  and  scenes.  Fatigue  we  knew 
not.  Time  stopped  its  course  within 
our  reckoning. 

It  was  little  different  from  yester, 
day  in  all  truth.  Yet  the  spirit  of 
aeons  lay  between. 

Today  was  Today! 


'  'Oceef  the 
Great 
Fountains 
in  the 
Court  of 
the  Uni* 
verse  at 
Night 


THAT  WAS  A  DREAM 


It  was  the  festive  release  from  our 
long  suspense  of  waiting.  The  apex 
of  our  Dream! 

What  can  I  say  of  the  months  that 
followed?  So  short  they  seemed,  we 
could  not  understand.  So  brief  and 
wonderful  and  full  of  glory. 

Glad  crowds  everywhere,  Beauty 
rampant,  wonder  in  the  eyes  of  five 
races,  delight  in  the  minds  of  a  hun- 
dred nations'  folk,  a  million  human 
types  in  glad  communion. 

Festivity  over  all.  Entertainment 
for  everyone.  Music  for  those  that 
loved  it.  Floral  triumphs  for  the  na- 
ture-lover. Art  for  the  pidlorially-in- 
clined.  Charm  for  a  multitude  of 
varied  peoples.  Education.  Inspiration. 


28 


I 


The  Beau- 
t  tiful  Dome 
, 'of  the 
Fine  Arts 
Palace  and 
Hawaiian 
Carnival 
Boat  on the 
Lagoon 


THAT  WAS'A'I&EAM 
WORTH  BUILDING  . . . 


Food  for  all  of  the  senses.  For  Spirit 
and  Mind  as  well! 

We,  whose  dream  it  was,  soon 
came  to  see  that  it  had  been  a  World 
Dream;  that  the  millions  whose  lives 
have  been  starved  of  Beauty,  near 
and  afar,  had  dreamed  this  dream. 
Their  yearning  had  helped  us  to  build 
it.  And  then  we  were  proud  with  a 
pride  hitherto  unknown,  that  our 
dream  might  be  shared  by  these 
throngs  from  the  whole  of  Life's 
pathways. 

And  we  knew  that  our  dream 
would  live  forever. 

It  was  a  comforting  thought,  as  the 
days  went  by,  for,  ever  and  anon,  we 
said  to  ourselves  or  one  another: 


the'Rising 
Sun  in 
Court  of 
the  Uni- 
verse at 
Night 


THAT  .WAS. A  DUEAM 
"  BUJLT>IN0 


"Soon  it  will  be  over." 

It  seemed  as  though  we  spoke  of 
a  friend  who  was  dying.  Who  daily 
grew  weaker  and  more  sweet,  the  loss 
of  whom  seemed  ever  a  grief  more 
poignant,  a  void  more  unbearable  to 
contemplate. 

That  is  how  we  loved  our  Dream! 

Between  whiles  we  said,  "Let  us 
laugh  and  enjoy  what  we  may."  And 
we  went  to  our  Dreamland  more  often, 
stayed  longer,  drank  deeper  of  its  joy. 

Soon  the  time  came  when  we  said, 
"It  is  tomorrow,"  and  we  said  it  silent- 
ly within  ourselves,  for  it  was  not  a 
thought  to  be  spoken  aloud.  Then 
the  day  came — The  Last  Day! 


PREAM 
BUILDfNG 


We  are  a  merrymaking  city,  so 
we  called  it  a  holiday.  We  sang  loudly 
and  thronged  the  gates.  We  were 
feverishly  glad.  We  went  early  and 
stayed  late— long  after  midnight.  We 
heard  the  farewell  speeches.  We  saw 
the  buildings  closed  for  the  last  time. 
We  saw  the  lights  come  on,  slowly 
and  glow  for  a  little  while.  We 
watched  them  go  out,  one  by  one- 
forever. 

Our  Dream  was  over. 

And  yet— And  yet— 

We  that  have  thought  it  all  out 
know  that  our  dream  has  only  begun. 

We  builded  only  the  substance— 
that  substance  of  wondrous  beauty 


Detail  of 
Fitje  Arts 
•Colonnade 
and  Statue 
of  "Young 
Pan" 


35 


tHATWAS:A  1>REAM 


and  delight  and  inspiration — upon 
the  shores  of  our  bay,  within  the 
hollow  of  our  sheltering  hills. 

That  substance  is  doomed  and,  ah, 
the  pity  of  it! 

Would  that  it,  too,  might  last  for- 
ever, like  its  image  within  our  memory, 
like  its  eternal  and  uplifting  message 
to  mankind. 

But  the  dream  that  we  builded  was 
greater  than  wood  or  plaster  or  iron 
or  stone.  Our  dream  was  a  thing 
imperishable,  a  dream  of  Love  and 
Yearning  for  better  things,  of  Inspira- 
tion, of  Fraternity,  of  Soul  Striving. 

We  built  it  upon  human  hearts; 
nay,  into  the  fibre  of  Humanity  itself 
our  dream  has  entered,  to  become 


37 


THAT  WAS'A  DREAM 
BUILDING 


a  heritage  for  future  good,  for  beauty 
and  acheivement  in  generations  upon 
generations  yet  unborn. 

And  the  message  of  our  Dream ! 

That  has  gone  to  the  ends  of  the 
Earth,  upon  human  tongues,  through 
the  potency  of  words  and  deeds  and 
thoughts. 

What  is  that  message? 

Many  have  tried  to  tell  us  but 
none  have  succeeded.  The  dream  has 
done  it  alone.  Those  who  have  seen 
it  know  its  message  even  though  they 
cannot  speak  it  aloud.  And  they  have 
made  it  known  to  their  kindred  afar, 
without  words. 

It  seems,  indeed,  a  thing  beyond 
words,  this  message.  A  something 


f  HAT'WA'S-  >t.  PREAM 

BUILDING 


that  the  heart  feels  and  the  spirit 
senses,  the  glory  and  fulness  of  which 
words  may  only  suggest,  but  a  mes- 
sage that  has  rung  its  meaning,  clear 
and  limpid,  like  a  bell-stroke,  through 
the  globe. 

Oh,  that  was  a  dream  worth 
building ! 

And,  now  we  must  see  the  sub- 
stance perish.  We  must  see  our  glad 
gardens  fade  and  their  bloom  disap- 
pear. We  must  watch  our  palaces 
and  mansions  crumble,  our  fountains 
be  stilled  and  shattered.  We  must 
see  our  Fairy-land  blighted,  our  Eden 
unpeopled,  despoiled  of  its  beauty 
and  joy. 


40 


THAT  WAS  A  DREAM 
WORTH  BUILDING 


We  are  like  Cinderella,  when  the 
hour  of  midnight  has  struck. 
That  is  hard,  but  it  is  Life. 

Thus  all  of  our  dreams  are  born; 
are  developed  and  finished— and  de- 
stroyed. Thus  Time,  like  the  waves 
of  the  sea,  wipes  out  our  dear  Castles 
of  Sand. 

Yet,  in  our  hearts  all  that  is  worthy 
shall  linger. 

In  the  hearts  of  the  multitude  all 
that  is  truly  great  shall  endure. 

Like  a  seed  of  great  dreams  it  shall 
ripen  into  a  harvest  of  greater  and 
still  greater  dreams,  until  the  End  of 
Things. 


THAT  WAS  A  DREAM 
WORTH  BUILDING 


So  let  us  be  glad  of  the  Dream 
we  have  builded.  And,  to  the  pass' 
ing  of  that  exquisite  shadow  which 
has  grown  out  of  it  and  lived  for  a 
time,  let  us  not  give  too  long  nor  too 
wistful  a  thought. 

It  were  better  to  build  more  dreams. 


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